Another year, another four Presidential $1 coins from the US Mint. I actually saw the first pictures of the new coins over at Consumerism Commentary. Flexo uses the coins about as much as I do; the first couple of them I was showing everyone like I'd minted them myself. The low-resolution pictures really don't do the coins justice; the higher-resolution ones put the presidents in a much better light.)
He also discusses that moving the motto from the edge to the obverse might make the first year's coins potentially more valuable.
It could be, but I doubt it makes much sense to hold onto rolls as an investment. These aren't exactly rare; there are over 100 million of each of the first three presidents floating around. I went to a coin show a few months ago, and one dealer was selling uncirculated rolls for a few dollars over face value, and they weren't flying off the shelves. The buying power will have depreciated about $1 per roll (4%) just due to inflation. These coins are nowhere near their face value in terms of metal content; the copper, zinc, manganese, and nickel in a presidential $1 coin cost about six cents.
The main value of the unopened, uncirculated rolls is the possibility of high-grade, rare errors. High grade coins by themselves will command a premium to collectors, but it takes a lot of know-how to do this profitably because it's pretty expensive to have each coin graded and slabbed by a reputable grading service. Errors tend to be rare (though there were at least tens of thousands of the “godless” Washington dollar coins) and if it's a missing edge lettering coin, it's much better to have it graded so its authenticity can be verified. PCGS would be able to tell a real error from a Dremel® job. This is a game that can be played, but it's not a slam dunk most of the time. Also, I strongly suggest that you not take a bunch of them back to the bank or credit union if you withdrew them from that same bank or credit union. Just like you shouldn't repeatedly abuse an all-you-can-eat buffet, you shouldn't abuse your tellers, or they'll complain and take away your coin privileges (or charge for them).
I'm not going to keep any rolls as investments. I'll open them up and spend them (after checking them for errors, of course) but otherwise I don't see a whole lot of upside to these.
I just collect the proof versions. I get those, the Silver Proof Eagle, and the Silver Proof annual U.S. set. They're on auto-order and my Eagle order processed last week, while my Presidential coins will process in about 3 weeks. When the 20th anniversary Eagle set came out in 2006, I got it for $100 (auto-order) and they sell between $350 and $500 on ebay now. Not that I plan on selling them anytime soon – I just like the way the proof sets look.